1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to pointer for meter and more particularly, to a pointer with a pointing tip that has a visible light-penetrable peripheral surface and a layer of reflective material coated on the pointing tip for reflecting incident light out of the visible light-penetrable peripheral surface in different directions to enhance the visibility of the indication of the pointing tip.
2. Description of the Related Art
A variety of meters and gauges are known for measuring the amount or speed of fluid or gas, or for indicating direction or time. For example, a motor vehicle generally has a fuel indicator/gas gauge to indicate the amount of fuel oil, an oil pressure gauge to indicate the pressure of fuel oil, an engine temperature gauge to indicate engine temperature, a tachometer to measure engine speed, and an odometer to measure the distance traveled by the vehicle. A meter generally uses a pointer to indicate the amount or value measured.
Further, when projects light onto a flat surface, it will be reflected in a particular direction. However, a flat plane may be unable to effectively reflect incident light that comes from an excessively big or small angle, thereby producing dispersed light. The pointer of a meter generally uses external light to produce a reflecting effect, enabling a person to view the indication. The pointer of a meter may have a rectangular or triangular cross section as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. The pointer A has the bottom wall covered with a layer of reflective material A1. According to the design shown in FIG. 4, the reflective material A1 coated bottom wall can only reflect incident light that passes vertically through the top wall toward the bottom wall. According to the design shown in FIG. 5, the reflective material A1 coated bottom wall can only reflect incident light that passes perpendicularly through the other two sidewalls. According to the prior art designs shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the reflective material A1 coated bottom wall can only reflect a small mount of external light source, resulting in low visibility of the indication of the pointer A.
In general, conventional pointers have the following drawbacks.                1. The sharp turning angles of the rectangular or triangular cross section tend to reflect external light, therefore only a small amount of incident light passes to the inside of the pointer, resulting in low visibility of the indication of the pointer.        2. The peripheral sides of the rectangular or triangular cross section of the pointer tend to reflect external light, thereby causing the user unable to well see the location of indication of the pointer.        